Acceptance speech from our new Chairman, Jeremy Thompson
It is with an eager heart and a clenched fist that I accept the position of Chair of the Weber County Democrats.
The outrage that you feel now as that apartheid-oligarch spits on the service of dedicated Americans, Veterans, Moms, Dads, brothers and sisters, but most importantly workers, must be your call to action.
Action on behalf of your neighbors, some who you do not know. Action on behalf of the person of color, or LGBT individual who is too afraid to speak out because they feel alone.
I have many asks of everyone in this audience today, and the first is this - Let your first action of outrage be to embrace those around you. In this auditorium, in this city and in this County.
Find those downtrodden human beings around you, for example those recently laid off, and remind them of the inherent pricelessness of their soul and their right to be heard, to work, and to be respected.
That goes literally hand-in-hand with one of the best traditions of our state: the pioneer spirit. The pioneer spirit is alive in Weber County, but we’ve only ever been instructed in a half-truth about that Spirit: a lie of singular self reliance with eyes down, and following in meekness. I will tell you now, no pioneers ever crossed the plains alone without bravery.
Neither will we cross these desolate plains of growing tyranny and autocracy alone. My second ask is that we are self-reliant together. We protect each other, defend each other, provide support when necessary and most importantly ask for support in return. If you are not reaching out in times of need to the people around you (this most important form of self-reliance dies) then the pioneer spirit is failing.
This also means carving time out for calls to representatives, protests, sit-ins, direct activities of non-violence, canvassing for candidates and phonebanks. This will also mean for some of you running for an office in your city or state.
We are approaching a dark time in this Nation’s history. What we are seeing today is just the start of a spreading ichor stain that will not stop in the next election, or the next two elections. This is a cancer that we will have to resist for the rest of our lives.
So my third, and most difficult, ask is this: you will meet people who awake from their propaganda slumber and realize what’s happening isn’t what they wanted, and isn’t what they voted for. Of course, not all will, there has always been some that love sleeping with the swine.
But there are many whose eyes will be pried open to what they’ve enabled, and from us to them it should be a time for grace, conversation, and possibly recruitment.
Two more things - First, while we have these conversations, ask and give support and embrace those most downtrodden, our eyes must never stray from the enemy. That of political violence and hateful terrorism. I am deeply concerned with the growing willingness for violence from the other side, that we saw attempted twice this election cycle against their own candidate!
With that in mind I am also going to ask those of you who are comfortable doing so to start exercising your Second Amendment rights. We have already seen the violence increase in just six weeks against our trans neighbors, others dragged out of town halls, or tortured for a month before being murdered and discarded in a field like Sam Nordquist.
We will hear more stories of violence and oppression in the coming months. To protect against that danger here, I am starting a sports shooting organization to provide the training and confidence should the last resort of defence ever need to be an option.
Also, exercising their 2nd amendment rights was how the Black Panther Party got Ronald Reagan to enact gun control in California in the 1970s. So when the dark hearted prowl with evil intent looking for a victim, I want them to think twice when they see a rainbow flag or pin.
I ask for your patience and support. I’ve never run a political party, and I will make mistakes; I’ve already made mistakes! Perhaps the ask before this was one. However, I commit to you now that all my actions will be ethical and solely for the mission of the Weber County Democratic Party - TO GET DEMOCRATS ELECTED.
So now the final ask, do you want this to be the end or do you want to get to work? I’m here to do work, and I hope you’re with me.
Jeremy Thompson
Chair, Weber County Democratic Party
See all of our newly elected Party Leadership here!